Beverage container

Abstract

To provide a beverage container provided with a holder part which is easily grasped by an infant and functions as a buffer when the container is dropped.SOLUTION: The holder portion 5 is made of a plastic material having flexibility, and includes an annular upper contact portion 5a disposed at the upper end, an annular lower contact portion 5b disposed at the lower end, a pair of grip portion 5c formed to face each other in the left-right direction, and a pair of void hole 5c formed between the grip portion 5d. The holder part 5 is expanded by deforming the 5d of the void hole, the cup part 1 is inserted, the 1c of the upper abutting part is closely attached so as to surround the 5a of the shoulder part of the cup part 1, the 1e of the lower abutting part is closely attached so as to surround the 5b of the bottom edge part, and the holder part 5 is mounted so as to cover the cup part 1. An infant can easily hold the cup part 1 by inserting a finger into a suitable handle hole 5e matched with the size of a hand, and even if the beverage vessel is dropped, a shock is absorbed by the holder part 5, and the cup part 1 is not damaged.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a drinking container for use by young children. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a beverage container for infants in which a handle including a ring body and a pair of gripping portions extending downward from the ring body can be attached to the container body. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 5-65336 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, with the beverage container of Patent Document 1, it is necessary for a child to continue grasping the handle, making it difficult to maintain a grip. As a result, the child's beverage container is often dropped. Furthermore, when the beverage container is dropped, the container body may collide with the floor and be damaged.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide a beverage container that is easy for small children to grasp and has a holder that functions as a buffer when dropped. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the beverage container of the present invention is a beverage container having a cup portion with a cylindrical opening at the upper end, a mouthpiece portion that closes the opening, and a holder portion that covers the cup portion, wherein the holder portion is composed of an annular upper abutment portion located at the upper end, a lower abutment portion located at the lower end and including a ring portion, a pair of grip portions that connect the upper abutment portion and the lower abutment portion and are formed opposite each other on the left and right, and a pair of gap holes that are formed between the pair of grip portions and between the upper abutment portion and the lower abutment portion, and the grip portion is characterized in that a lattice-like curved surface structure is formed by a number of handle holes. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] Thus, the beverage container of the present invention employs a holder portion having a lattice-like curved surface structure with numerous handle holes, making it easy for young children to grasp the container by inserting their fingers into the appropriate handle holes that fit the size of their hands.

[0008] Furthermore, even if a child temporarily loses grip of the handle, the beverage container is less likely to fall because their fingers can get caught in the handle hole, and even if the beverage container is dropped, the holder part is made of a flexible material, so the impact is absorbed by the holder part and the cup part will not be damaged. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the beverage container. [Figure 2] 1 is a perspective view of a beverage container as viewed from the front. FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the beverage container as viewed from the rear. [Figure 4] 2 is a cross-sectional view of the beverage container taken along line AA'. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] The present invention will be described in detail below based on the illustrated embodiments.

[0011] Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the beverage container, Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the beverage container as seen from the front, Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the beverage container as seen from the rear, and Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the beverage container taken along line A-A' in Fig. 2.

[0012] The beverage container is composed of a cup portion 1 with an opening at the top, an engagement portion 2 that can engage with this opening, a mouthpiece portion 3 that can be attached to the engagement portion 2 and closes the cup portion 1 via the engagement portion 2, a straw portion 4 that can be attached to the inside of the mouthpiece portion 3, and a holder portion 5 that covers the cup portion 1.

[0013] The cup portion 1, which is the container body, is made of a hard, heat-resistant material such as glass or plastic, and is preferably made of a transparent or translucent material so that the beverage inside can be seen. A scale may also be provided on the outside to indicate the volume of the beverage.

[0014] A cylindrical opening 1b is provided at the upper end of the main body 1a of the cup 1, and this opening 1b is continuous with the main body 1a via a shoulder 1c including a step. An external thread 1d is formed on the outer wall of the opening 1b, and a recessed groove 1f is provided at the lower end of the bottomed main body 1a, surrounding the bottom edge 1e.

[0015] The engaging portion 2 is molded from a hard synthetic resin or the like, and is composed of a circular hole 2a at the upper end into which the mouthpiece portion 3 can be engaged, a cylindrical body portion 2b surrounding this circular hole 2a, and an internal thread portion 2c engraved on the inner surface of this body portion 2b and screwed into the external thread portion 1d of the opening 1b of the cup portion 1.

[0016] The mouthpiece 3 is attachable to annular engaging portion 2 that can engage with the opening 1b of the cup portion 1, and is molded from a flexible synthetic resin material or the like. The mouthpiece 3 is composed of a top portion 3b with a mouthpiece hole 3a at its tip, an inverted, bowl-shaped sloped portion 3c that continues below the top portion 3b, an annular flange portion 3d that continues from the lower end of the sloped portion 3c, and a tubular portion 3e that is inside the sloped portion 3c, communicates with the mouthpiece hole 3a, and fits over the upper end 4a of the straw portion 4.

[0017] The sloped surface 3c is provided with a pressing portion 3f, which is provided with a curved recess 3g that is concave in a bowl shape so that it can be easily pressed with a finger. Furthermore, a ventilation portion 3h that penetrates the wall of the pressing portion 3f is provided at the bottom of the curved recess 3g.

[0018] The ventilation portion 3h may have any suitable shape such as a circular hole or a cross-shaped notch, and may be disposed at any suitable position within the curved recess 3g as long as it can be pressed with a finger.

[0019] Between the lower end of the inclined surface 3c and the flange 3d, there is formed an annular groove 3j that engages with the circular hole 2a of the engagement portion 2. As shown in Fig. 4, the thickness of the wall of the pressing portion 3f is thicker than the thickness of the wall 3i surrounding the pressing portion 3f.

[0020] The straw portion 4 is cylindrical, and the upper end portion 4a is inserted into the inner wall of the tubular portion 3e of the mouthpiece portion 3, and when the beverage container is assembled, the lower end portion 4b of the straw portion 4 is long enough to reach near the bottom of the cup portion 1.

[0021] The top portion 3b is a cylindrical body with a closed tip, and a mouthpiece hole 3a is drilled in the closed surface at the tip of this cylindrical body. The axial direction of this mouthpiece hole 3a is slightly inclined in a predetermined direction, i.e., direction B shown in Figure 4, starting from the center of the mouthpiece portion 3. Similarly, the straw portion 4 is also inclined in direction B, starting from the center of the mouthpiece portion 3.

[0022] A pressing portion 3f is disposed on the sloped portion 3c on the back side of the inclined top portion 3b. Note that the top portion 3b does not necessarily need to be inclined, and in such a case, the pressing portion 3f is disposed at an appropriate position on part of the outer surface of the sloped portion 3c.

[0023] The holder portion 5 is molded from a flexible material, such as silicone resin, and is composed of an annular upper abutment portion 5a located at the upper end, a lower abutment portion 5b including an annular portion located at the lower end, a pair of gripping portions 5c connecting the upper abutment portion 5a and the lower abutment portion 5b and formed opposite each other on the left and right, and a pair of gap holes 5d formed between these gripping portions 5c and between the upper abutment portion 5a and the lower abutment portion 5b and formed opposite each other on the front and back.

[0024] Although the upper contact portion 5a and the lower contact portion 5b shown in the figure are annular, any suitable ring shape can be adopted depending on the shape of the horizontal cross section of the cup portion 1. Furthermore, the lower contact portion 5b can also have a shape that includes an annular portion and covers the entire bottom of the cup portion 1.

[0025] Furthermore, the holder portion 5 may be molded from a hard material other than a flexible material, for example, a hard resin such as polypropylene. In such a case, a pivoting portion such as a hinge is provided on the upper and lower contact portions 5a, 5b above and below one of the air gap holes 5d, respectively, and a separable and engageable engaging portion is provided on the upper and lower contact portions 5a, 5b above and below the other air gap hole 5d, respectively. Furthermore, separable and engageable engaging portions can also be provided on the upper and lower contact portions 5a, 5b above and below a pair of front and rear air gap holes 5d.

[0026] Each grip portion 5c has a lattice-like curved surface structure formed by numerous handle holes 5e, and these outwardly bulging curved surface structures are arranged symmetrically. Although the handle holes 5e are shown as circular holes, holes of any suitable shape, such as diamond-shaped holes or regular hexagonal holes, can also be used.

[0027] The grip portion 5c also has at least a first row of holes 5f consisting of a plurality of handle holes 5e arranged vertically, and a second row of holes 5g adjacent to the first row of holes 5f and consisting of a plurality of handle holes 5e arranged vertically, and the handle holes 5e adjacent between the first and second row of holes 5f, 5g are arranged offset vertically.

[0028] A mesh-like grip piece 5h is formed between these handle holes 5e. The upper contact part 5a has a plurality of notched pieces 5i with vertical cutouts at predetermined intervals, and the inner surface of the lower contact part 5b has a protruding ring 5j that fits into the recessed groove 1f of the cup part 1.

[0029] When assembling the beverage container, first, cup portion 1 is inserted into gap hole 5d of holder portion 5 from the opening 1b side, and holder portion 5 is attached to cup portion 1. Because holder portion 5 is flexible, gap hole 5d is deformed and expanded, cup portion 1 is inserted, and upper abutment portion 5a, which has been made more flexible by cutout piece 5i, is expanded and upper abutment portion 5a is brought into close contact so as to surround shoulder portion 1c of cup portion 1.

[0030] In addition, the convex ring portion 5j of the holder portion 5 is fitted into the concave groove portion 1f of the cup portion 1, and the lower abutment portion 5b is tightly attached to surround the bottom edge portion 1e, and the holder portion 5 is attached to the cup portion 1 so as to cover the cup portion 1 as shown in Figures 2 and 3.

[0031] Alternatively, when using a holder part 5 made of a hard material and having the aforementioned engaging parts, after separating the engaging parts, the cup part 1 is placed in the holder part 5 and the engaging parts are engaged. In this way, just like with a holder part 5 made of a flexible material, the holder part 5 can be attached to the cup part 1 by closely contacting the upper contact part 5a to surround the shoulder part 1c of the cup part 1 and closely contacting the lower contact part 5b to surround the bottom edge part 1e.

[0032] Next, the suction tip part 3 is attached to the engagement part 2. The flexible flange part 3d of the suction tip part 3 is inserted into the circular hole 2a of the engagement part 2 while being deformed, and the groove part 3j of the suction tip part 3 is engaged with the edge of the circular hole 2a. The suction tip part 3 and engagement part 2, which are integrated in this way, will not separate unless the flange part 3d of the suction tip part 3 is significantly deformed.

[0033] Furthermore, the upper end 4a of the straw part 4 is fitted into the inner wall of the tubular part 3e of the mouthpiece part 3, thereby integrating the mouthpiece part 3, straw part 4, and engagement part 2. Note that the straw part does not necessarily have to be provided.

[0034] Finally, the inner thread portion of the engaging portion 2 is screwed onto the outer thread portion 1d of the cup portion 1 containing powdered milk, hot water, juice, or other beverage, thereby completing the assembly of the beverage container.

[0035] The order in which the holder part 5 is attached to the cup part 1, or the engaging part 2 with the mouthpiece part 3 integrated thereto, may be reversed. After use, the beverage container is disassembled in the reverse order of the assembly described above, and each part is washed, boiled to disinfect, etc., and then dried and stored.

[0036] When an infant puts his / her mouth to the mouth hole 3a of the mouthpiece part 3 to suck on a beverage container containing a beverage, the mouth hole 3a is positioned so that the infant's face faces the end of the B direction shown in Figure 4.

[0037] In this case, the child will hold the grip piece 5h with both hands by inserting the fingers of their right hand into the handle hole 5e of the right grip part 5c and the fingers of their left hand into the handle hole 5e of the left grip part 5c. The child can insert their fingers into any of the handle holes 5e according to the size of their hand to grasp the grip piece 5h. The child's thumb can also be inserted between the front end of the grip part 5c and the main body 1a of the cup part 1 to hold the beverage container.

[0038] In this way, when a child holding cup portion 1 with both hands sucks on the beverage, the water level in the beverage drops, and the outside air flows into cup portion 1 through ventilation portion 3h to the extent that the water level drops. As the outside air flows in, the air pressure inside the beverage container becomes the same as the outside air pressure, and there is no hindrance to the child's sucking.

[0039] Next, to encourage the infant to suck, that is, to have the parent pour out a small amount of beverage that will trigger the infant to suck, the curved recess 3g of the pressing portion 3f is pressed with a finger.

[0040] When the curved recess 3g is pressed with a finger, the finger closes the ventilation section 3h provided in the pressing section 3f. Pressing with the ventilation section 3h closed causes the entire pressing section 3f to deform and become recessed inward, compressing the air inside the mouthpiece section 3. This compressed air pushes down the liquid level of the beverage, causing a small amount of beverage to be dispensed through the straw section 4 and the mouthpiece hole 3a.

[0041] As described above, the thickness of the wall of pressing portion 3f is thicker than the thickness of the wall 3i surrounding pressing portion 3f, so when pressing portion 3f with a finger, the thick, hard pressing portion 3f is lightly pressed with a finger, causing the easily deformed surrounding wall 3i to deform significantly. In this way, the area around pressing portion 3f of mouthpiece 3 is easily recessed inward, so the air inside the beverage container is easily compressed, making it easier to pour the beverage.

[0042] In order to obtain the effect of making such a mouthpiece portion 3 more likely to concave inward, instead of increasing the thickness of the wall portion of the pressing portion 3f, the pressing portion 3f may be made of a hard material by two-color molding or the like.

[0043] Furthermore, when an infant places their mouth on the mouthpiece hole 3a, their face is positioned in the direction of the inclination of the mouthpiece hole 3a. Because the pressing portion 3f is located on the sloped portion 3c on the back side of the inclined top portion 3b, it is possible to easily press the curved recess 3g of the pressing portion 3f with a finger without being obstructed by the infant's face.

[0044] In this way, a small amount of beverage is dispensed from the mouthpiece hole 3a, and the child begins to suck the beverage by himself / herself. By starting to suck by himself / herself, the child continues to suck the beverage.

[0045] Furthermore, unlike a baby bottle, the beverage container is sucked through the straw portion 4, so it can also be used to practice drinking through the straw portion 4 for young children who have never used a straw portion 4.

[0046] Thus, the beverage container of the present invention employs a holder portion 5 having a lattice-like curved surface structure with numerous handle holes 5e formed therein, making it easy for young children to grasp the container by inserting their fingers into the appropriate handle holes 5e that fit the size of their hand.

[0047] Furthermore, even if a child temporarily loses grip of the gripping portion 5c, the beverage container is less likely to fall because the child's fingers can be caught in the handle hole 5e, and even if the beverage container is dropped, the holder portion 5 is made of a flexible material, so the impact is absorbed by the holder portion 5 and the cup portion 1 will not be damaged. [Explanation of symbols]

[0048] 1 Cup part 1a Main body 1b opening 1c Shoulder 1d External thread 1e Bottom edge 2 Engagement part 2c Internal thread 3 Mouthpiece 5 Holder part 5a Upper contact part 5b Lower contact part 5c Grip part 5d void hole 5e Handle hole 5f First row of holes 5g Second row of holes 5h grip piece

Claims

1. A beverage container having a cup portion with a cylindrical opening at the top end, a mouthpiece portion that closes the opening, and a holder portion that covers the cup portion, the holder portion is composed of an annular upper contact portion disposed at an upper end, a lower contact portion disposed at a lower end and including an annular portion, a pair of grip portions formed opposite to each other on the left and right sides and connecting the upper contact portion and the lower contact portion, and a pair of gap holes formed between the pair of grip portions and the upper contact portion and the lower contact portion, A beverage container characterized in that the grip portion has a lattice-like curved surface structure formed by a number of handle holes.

2. The beverage container according to claim 1, characterized in that the holder portion is molded from a flexible material, and the cup portion is inserted into the deformed and expanded void hole from the opening side to attach the holder portion to the cup portion.

3. The beverage container described in claim 1, characterized in that the holder portion is molded from a hard material, and has rotating portions on the upper abutment portion and the lower abutment portion above and below one of the void holes, and has separable and engageable engaging portions on the upper abutment portion and the lower abutment portion above and below the other void hole, or has separable and engageable engaging portions on the upper abutment portion and the lower abutment portion above and below a pair of the void holes.

4. The beverage container according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the grip portion has at least a first row of holes consisting of a plurality of handle holes arranged vertically, and a second row of holes adjacent to the first row of holes and consisting of a plurality of handle holes arranged vertically, and the handle holes adjacent between the first and second row of holes are arranged in a vertically offset manner.

5. The opening is continuous with the main body of the cup via a shoulder, A beverage container as described in any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the holder part is attached to the cup part by closely adhering the upper abutment part to surround the shoulder part and closely adhering the lower abutment part to surround the bottom edge part of the cup part.

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